


Across Darkspace

by poisonflowers



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Songs, Soulmates, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 00:57:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10547306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonflowers/pseuds/poisonflowers
Summary: "Moments after the first time they went through a Mass Relay, Scott and Sara checked each other's wrists for signs of a soul name.Scott grinned and tugged playfully on his sister's arm, 'I can't even read yours, it just looks like a buncha triangles!'"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for a Soulmate AU. All the Soulmate AU's.

Moments after the first time they went through a Mass Relay, Scott and Sara checked each other's wrists for signs of a soul name. 

"Gil Bodie. No, BRO-die," Sara sounded out carefully. "I think it's a human name, but can't tell much more than that."

Scott grinned and tugged playfully on his sister's arm, "I can't even read yours, it just looks like a buncha triangles!"

Sarah frowned and stared down at her wrist. It did look like a bunch of triangles in a purple-bruise color. "Mo-om," Sara called, "I can't read it, use your omni tool!" 

Ellen Ryder left the window of their ship's cabin and joined her 14-year old twins at their berth. She scanned her daughter's wrist with the omni tool. "Sorry, little duck. 'No relevant data' it says."

"What does THAT mean," Sara whined. 

"It means you'll find out more when you meet your soulmate," Ellen said with a kiss to the top of her daughter's head. "Same as the rest of us."

Sara sighed and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. She took Ellen's wrist and traced the letters there with her finger, like she used to when she was little. "Alec Ryder". Those marks helped them all feel close to him, even when he was far away.

"Are you sure we'll meet them? Our soulmates?" Scott slid over to his mother's other side.

"I'm sure that the Ryder kids can do anything they put their minds to," Ellen said. "After all, you've got your mother's brains and your father's stubbornness. Now come on, gather up your things. We're almost to Earth."

The teens quickly shoved clothes, books,and a box of Blasto-Ohs cereal into their duffle bags then stood by their mother's side and waited for the ship to dock. Being born on the Citadel they'd never been planetside before. But their mother was sick, and Ellen wanted to spend her last days somewhere with real air, sunshine and mountains. The twins just wanted her to be happy. 

***

When they turned 18, Scott joined up with the Alliance Military. Stationed at Arcturus overseeing the Mass Relays he watched thousands of pioneers pass through and scanned every ship's manifest for a "Gil Brodie". No luck. 

When he got the call from his father via SAM, Scott signed up for the Initiative without hesitation. He was tired of looking for a soulmate and tired of a life of meaningless routine. It was time for some excitement. 

Sara joined the Alliance Military as well, but ended up on a team searching for Promethean artifacts. Her first love was a Asari linguist, Rana D'vari. Sara hoped the words on her wrist would turn out to be Rana's name in Prothean or some other lost alien language that they might discover together. 

Rana dumped Sara right after she told her about the Andromeda Initiative. 

"Humans have soulmarks, but not the asari. We have songs," Rana explained gently. "They start the first time you travel through a relay, a quiet hum in the back of your head. They grow louder the nearer you are to your soulmate." Rana closed her eyes and hummed, "mine is still very quiet, and sounds...Hanar, I think." She opened her eyes and smiled softly at Sara, "They are far away, but not so far as another galaxy. I am sorry, Sara Ryder. I have enjoyed our time together, but I am not your soulmate."

Sara left immediately to join her father and brother in the Initiative. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the Milky Way as possible. And 600 years might be enough time to heal a broken heart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hi, I'm Sara Ryder and, well, I think my little brother might be you soulmate. He's here! But in a coma, I'm sure he'll be fine...How're you?"

Sara woke, and slowly struggled to sit up. She felt like she was in a fog- her head had never hurt so bad before. Everything hurt. 

"What happened?"

SAM answered. "You were clinically dead for twenty-two seconds". 

Sara blinked. Okay, this was big, "but then how did I make it out?"

"Hey, you're still with us," came a voice from the floor. Sara looked about- it was Liam. He'd been resting on the ground near her bed, waiting for her to wake up. Wait- this wasn't a bed, and she wasn't in the med bay.

Liam spoke into his omni tool, "guys, get to SAM node! Ryder's awake."

"SAM?" Sara was still confused. 

"I didn't hear him-" Liam was cut off as Lexi and Cora ran into the room. 

Lexi got to work immediately, scanning her patient and running a few perfunctory tests. Sara glanced about the room, waiting for someone to explain what was going on. Then she saw her Alec's N7 helmet resting on the console. 

"My father...where...?" Everyone's eyes suddenly went to their feet, and Sara got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

"...He chose you. I'm sorry, Sara. I know this must be a blow..." Cora's voice sounded like it was at the end of a long tunnel.

"I can't believe he's gone," Sara said finally. "One minute everything was fine and then...he...ow!"

"Careful-" Dr. Lexi cut in, "you'll reopen your wounds. Supplies are tight here, we need to get to the Nexus so I can apply medi-gel and clean your wounds properly."

Sara carefully reached up and felt the mess of makeshift bandages on one side of her head. Underneath the layers of cloth strips, her ear and neck burned. 

"You had quite a fall. Your helmet shattered, caused some severe lacerations. I did what I could with the supplies we had," Lexi said apologetically. "It may scar, but your hair should cover the worst of it."

"I'm not worried about that," Sara said, dismissing the thought with a wave of her hand. Scars didn't man much to a soldier. Sara turned to Cora, "I guess you're the Pathfinder now. When do we get to work?"

"You're the new Pathfinder, Sara." Cora said, her voice clipped.

"...You can't be serious." Sera said. 

"What's the matter," Liam asked, he'd been so quiet until now. "I think you're up for it."

"You saw my dad in action," Sara said angrily. "It takes years to become a Pathfinder."

"You'll learn as you go," Liam shrugged."Besides, you won't be doing this alone."

Right, Sera thought. I'll be doing this with a crew who resents me for not being my father. 

"It's all academic anyway," Lexi said. "Something happened when your father transferred SAM to your implant. He's connected to you in a way even I don't entirely understand. Trying to untangle it now...could kill you."

Sera's mind drifted as Cora and Liam continued to bicker. Losing SAM could kill her? Did this mean she was stuck being a Pathfinder for life? No chance of retirement, no starting up a little farm on one of these so-called "golden worlds".

"She has two hours," Cora's voice brought Sara back to reality."We need our Pathfinder for this."

"Oh, I uh, checked on your brother." Liam added, as Lexi began to usher everyone out of the room. "Still no change. But if you can pull through, so can he. A bit of your dad in both of you."

Mom's brains and dad's stubbornness, Sara thought as she watched the crew- her crew now- leave the room. 

This was turning out to be the worst trip ever. 

***  
Lexi was able to patch Sara up better after their trip to the Nexus. The station was in poor shape and dangerously low on food, but there had been few injuries during the uprising, and the people were generally healthy. They could spare a pack of medi-gel.

In her quarters on the Tempest for the first time, Sara took a look at her injuries in the mirror. The deep gash started just behind her ear and ran down her neck- Lexi was right, her hair would cover some of it. There was a jacket and scarf in her wardrobe that would cover the rest. Not that she cared. 

Maybe she cared a little. 

Sara changed clothes then made her way through the ship- her ship now- and up to the bridge. 

"Helm is green," Kallo said. "Gil reports the drive core is online."

"This is it, Ryder," Cora said. "The Tempest is yours. Unless you've got something to say for the logs?"

Sara was too nervous to turn and face the crew- her crew- this was going to take some getting used to. Instead she stared out the ship's front view screen and hoped she looked more thoughtful and "captainy" than downright terrified. 

"I know things seem bad, but we've already- wait," she turned to Kallo. "Did you say Gil?"

"Er, yes? Gil Brodie. The ship's engineer," Kallo said. 

"Shit!" Sarah laughed. "I can't believe Scott is missing this! He is going to flip when he wakes up."

"Words for the history books," Liam said with a smirk. 

"Aw hell, we're still recording?" Sara groaned. Her career as a Pathfinder was starting out great. "Uh, end log. Okay. Let's go to Eos!"

A slow clap started then petered out behind her. Sara focused on the nav console, she didn't turn around to see who had started it.

***

New Pathfinder Sara Ryder threw herself into her work, determined to prove herself to the crew- especially Cora. So it took her took a few days before she found time to go properly meet Gil. 

"Hi, I'm Sara Ryder and, well, I think my little brother might be you soulmate. He's here! But in a coma, I'm sure he'll be fine...How're you?" Great first impression, Sara. A+. 

Gil grinned and immediately pulled back the sleeve of his uniform, showing her his wrist. It just said "Ryder". 

"Suvi says that soul marks are proof that God has a sense of humor," Sara laughed. 

"With so little to go on, I gave up on ever finding my match. And now you say he's in a coma?" Gill laughed. "Suvi's creator is proper comedian!"

"Scott never gave up trying to find you," Sara said. "Back in the Milky Way he was stationed at the Arcturus relay, and searched every ship that went through looking for your name. He'll pull through this. He has to."

"And to think, all this time I avoided the relays because security was too tight," Gill said, shaking his head. "So, how about you, Pathfinder? Your soulmate make it to Andromeda?"

"I think they might already be here," Sara said, pulling back the sleeve of her jacket and showing her wrist.

"Those...It looks like the markings you found on the Remnant," Gil said, a little awed. "Have you showed anyone else?"

Sara shook her head, "only Scott. And I'm sure Lexi knows, since she's my doctor."

"Right. Well, looks like you ended up in the right galaxy then Pathfinder. Ryder. Er, what do I call you now...soul sister?"

She laughed, "just call me Sara, okay Gil?"

"That is Mr. Brodie to you," he said, with mock seriousness. "At least until after we've played poker."

Sara nodded. She definitely approved of this guy. He and Scott were going to get on famously if- no, WHEN, he woke up. 

"You're on."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaal shows up next chapter. Promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I did not know human also had soulmates. I shall have to learn more about that at your Cultural Center."
> 
> "Yeah..." Sara said, idly tracing the shapes on her wrist.

The trip to Aya started out bad. But, hey, any landing you can walk away from...Nah, there was no way to put a positive spin on this. It was still pretty bad.

Still, Kallo managed to steer them through the Scourge, mostly in one piece. Then, with what Ryder hoped was help from the planet's inhabitants and not prelude to an attack, they landed. 

"Look at that," Sara said, staring out the view screen in awe. "It's beautiful." Aya looked like the golden world they had expected Habitat 7 to be- lush jungles, rivers and waterfalls everywhere. Unfortunately it was surrounded by the Scourge. And it was already taken. 

Ryder checked on the automatic fire suppression systems (they worked), made sure they could breathe on this planet (they could), then opened the bay doors just as Vetra, Liam and Cora joined her on the bridge. 

"Please," Vetra said, crossing her long Turian arms and fixing Ryder with an "overprotective older sister" look. "You're not really going out there on your own?"

"We can't afford a repeat of last time," Sara said. "I'm the Pathfinder. First contact is on me."

"Most important thing ever," Liam said with a smirk. "No pressure." They might make light of the situation, but Liam was right. First contact with the Turians had been mucked up so badly it had started a war, not to mention their first encounter with the Kett. 

"Hey, if I get eaten alive," Sara joked, "even if it's hilarious- please destroy the vids."

No one laughed. 

Sara took a deep breath an exited the ship. She left all her weapons and armor behind and kept her arms above her head. She hoped the aliens would recognize this as a gesture of surrender- of peace. She REALLY hoped this wasn't the alien version flipping the bird or something. 

SAM's translator still hadn't caught up to the alien language when she was surrounded, but she stopped moving when they started talking, and they took advantage of the pause to scan her for weapons. 

"Need me to...take my shoes off?" Sara joked. They didn't get it, and just ushered her forward. 

An important-looking blue alien stepped forward and spoke. "I am Paran Shie, governor of Aya. We are the angara." Sara put her arms down, relieved that SAM had picked up enough of their language to translate. No one had died yet, this was already going better than most of her other missions!

"Hello," Sara said carefully. "I'm a Pathfinder with the Initiative."

"Yes," Paran Shie interruped. "You crossed Darkspace. I've heard of your journey." Another alien pushed it's way to the front of the crowd. This one was purple, and...wearing a really ugly poncho. No one else had ponchos, what did it mean? Was it an important poncho?

"Jaal," Paran Shie addressed the purple alien. "I have this in hand."

Jaal raised a hand to silence her, "Evfra saw the ship come in and sent me to find out what's going on," he said sternly. 

Okay, this Evfra was obviously more important than the governor. And Jaal served him? Sara needed to figure out the power dynamics here, fast. 

"She's a human from another galaxy," Paran Shie said. "A Pathfinder."

Jaal approached Sara and got right up in her face- but not in an intimidating way- Maybe angara just weren't big on personal space? She noticed his eyes, large and blue with flecks of white like a sky full of scars. Sara also noted this alien had a scar along the side of his head, near the same place as hers. 

"Aya is hidden," Jaal said slowly and carefully. "Protected. What do you want."

Sara wished she'd spent more time on sociology or diplomacy in the Alliance Academy, instead of studying archaeology. She knew what to do with a dusty old ruin. Talking was hard. 

“I apologize,” Sara blurted out. “Landing here the way we did- without warning, on fire, was not the plan.”

"That’s good to know," Jaal said. "Because if it was, that would be a very bad plan." Then he smiled, slightly, and turned away from er. Strange, an alien creature from a completely different galaxy than her own...Sara hoped smiling meant the same thing here. 

It was a really nice smile. 

***  
So Jaal joined her crew. Sara didn't even think to object- they were low on people, she couldn't afford to turn down any offers of help. Especially help from someone she found so...Interesting.Unfortunately Jaal was even more evasive than Peebee. He'd turned down her attempt to learn more about him with a flat "no". And when she'd tried to get the ball rolling and tell him about herself, he shut her down with a disinterested "that's enough for now." 

It probably didn't help that the crew still didn't respect her- Cora especially seemed unhappy with her decisions at their last meeting, where she'd introduced Jaal. At they end they'd all wandered away without being dismissed. Something was going to have to give soon. Maybe rescuing the Moshae would turn everyone around? But first, she needed to check in with Tann about meeting the Angara. Back to the Nexus. 

Sara received Dr. Carlyle's message soon after they docked, and ran to the Hyperion medbay in a panic. "Harry, what's happening with Scott?"

"Well, we got him out of the pod." Dr. Harry Carlyle said. "I don't want to get your hopes up, but SAM managed to...find him, you might say." 

"I don't follow." Sara looked down at her brother, still unconscious on the med table. 

"Well he's still in a coma," Harry said. "But he also has an implant like yours, and SAM managed to access it. He's made contact."

Sara grinned. "That's incredible! He's okay?" She was so eager to have her baby brother back, there was so much to tell him! Much of it was bad news- Sara wasn't looking forward to telling Scott about their father, or that Heleus wasn't exactly full of the "golden worlds" they had been promised. 

"Vitals are steady," Harry's voice interrupted Sara's train of thought. "But I'm letting SAM take the lead on this one." Harry made his way over to the monitors near Scott's head and made a few adjustments. "Though in a coma, Scott's mental processes remain intact."

"So...is he okay?" Sara asked again?

"You can ask him yourself, one moment while I establish a link with his implant."

SAM's voice spoke up inside Sara's head. "Proceed."

"Scott? Can you hear me?" Sara asked out loud. 

"Is that you Sara?" Scott's voice sounded tired through their implants. "What's happening, where am I?" 

"There was a problem with your stasis pod," Sara said. "...you're in a coma. On the Hyperion. Do you understand?"

"Uh...I think so?" Scott's eyelids flickered. "Am I dreaming?"

"SAM linked in to your implant, but they say you're stable. You're safe and sound in the med bay." Sara said. "And you'll never guess what else- I found your soulmate. Gil, he's an engineer on my ship! He's a real sweetheart, too. And funny! I can't wait for you to wake up and meet him."

Sara paused, anticipating her brother's overjoyed response. But there was nothing. 

"Scott-?"

"This...this is all wrong. I should be there- I can't feel anything..." Scott's voice sounded like he was drifting away from her. 

"His pulse rate is increasing rapidly," SAM said. 

An alarm sounded from the monitors near Scott's head, Harry ran over and made a few quick adjustments to the console. 

"That's enough for now, it's too stressful." Harry said. "He needs to rest."

"I'm sorry, "Sara blinked back tears. "I didn't even get to tell him about Dad."

Dr. Carlyle nodded sympathetically. "The connection was only temporary. I'll deliver the bad news, once he wakes up. I'm well practiced at it."

Sara wandered out of the med bay, and straight into Jaal. Specifically, face-first into his poncho. 

"Sorry! Sorry," Sara said. "I should have watched where I was going-"

"I as well," Jaal said. "I believe I am lost, I was looking for the Cultural Center?"

"You're very lost," Sara said with a small laugh as she wiped at her face. "It's back by the Tempest. I can walk you there-"

"Do not trouble yourself-"

"It's no trouble! Besides, any excuse to put off a meeting with Tann." Sara said. She led Jaal back towards the tram, then selected the docking bay on the map. 

"You're...upset." Jaal said, once their car started moving.

Sara shook her head, "it's nothing. I mean, it's a lot. My brother's in a coma. I thought I could help him out, by giving him some good news about his soulmate. But I think the shock made things worse."

"I am sorry about your brother." Jaal said solemnly. "I did not know human also had soulmates, like the angara. I shall have to learn more about that at your Cultural Center."

"Yeah..." Sara said, idly tracing the shapes on her wrist. They spent the rest of the short ride in companionable silence.


	4. Chapter 4

"Our first outpost," Vetra said happily as she leaned against the railing in engineering. "Hope this one lasts."

"First step, not naming it 'Promise' or 'Resilience,'" Gil quipped back over the coms. 

"Those names sound like they came off a brochure from the last century," Liam said.

"I like 'Resilience,'" Peebee said. "'Promise' was probably a bit on the nose."

Sara smiled as she listened to the chatter over the coms from her terminal in the Research Center. The crew was definitely happier since they'd founded the first Outpost on Eos and rescued the Moshae. After so much had gone wrong with the trip to Andromeda, they needed a few wins. 

"Prodromos had better be worth all the time Ryder put into it, " Drack said. 

She blushed at that. Even the old krogan thought she'd proven herself. 

"Are you happy here?" Ryder heard Moshae Sjefa ask Jaal. Lexi was still keeping the Moshae confined to the med bay, but soon they'd be back on Aya. 

"Yes," Jaal responded emphatically. Did he not realize the coms were on? Then again, angara were so open about everything, maybe he just didn't care. "The Pathfinder lets me tinker- I took apart a 'blow dryer,' it's more valuable tech than it seems."

Sara laughed as Liam sidled up to her, "we're going to have words when she's gone," he said, indicating the Moshae. 

"Why? We've got sonic showers," Ryder said. "What do you need a blow dryer for?"

"Thinking about the future," Liam protested. "What if that's the only blow dryer left in Heleus? Some day I might need it, takes a lot of work to look this pretty."

She laughed again, "Fine, fine. I'll make Jaal put it back together."

Sara glanced over at Liam, saw the marks on his wrist, then pointedly glanced away. "You might want to put a shirt on," she said. 

"Civilian ship," he shrugged. "Besides, I don't care if you see my mark. We're all family here."

"Yeah?" Sara said. "Yeah, thanks for that Kosta."

"No. Thank you," Liam replied. "I checked the manifest, my match is still in stasis, but the more work you do, the more outposts you start, the better chance we have of meeting. " He absentmindedly rubbed his wrist, "sometimes I worry she'll spend her whole life in stasis and we'll never meet."

Sara nodded, a little choked up "that why these outposts mean so much to you?"

"That, and I didn't want to starve to death," he laughed. "And this IS our jobs."

"Right, back to work," Sara said, heading towards the bridge. "We're almost to Aya, so put a shirt on already! Don't want to offend the locals."

He waived her off, "already checked with Jaal. Angara don't care!"

Sara rolled her eyes. 

***

They landed on Aya- thankfully not on fire this time- and returned Moshae Sjefa to her people. The Initiative now had an alliance with the angara- A tentative, fragile alliance, but it was something to build on.

Sara left the Resistance headquarters to wander the city, just enjoying being outside after so much time cooped up either on a ship or on planets with toxic conditions- even her armor felt claustrophobic after a while. She wandered the marketplace, gathered up some food samples for Lexi to test, then spotted Jaal all by himself. 

"Hey Jaal," Sara stood next to him, looking out over the jungles and waterfalls of Aya. "You're relaxed here. There's a sparkle in your eye."

"I am. Thank you," Jaal said. "It's nice of you to notice."

"You're really interesting," she ventured. "I like to notice"

He didn't say reply, so Sara pushed on. "So...I visited the museum here! And I learned that angara have soul mates- do they have have soul marks?"

"No," Jaal said. "Lexi has told me something of the human soul names, and the Asari songs. And how the Turians talk to their soul mates through dreams."

"Right," Ryder said. "And Salarian have a timer that counts down the days until they meet their soul mate- must be related to their fast metabolisms. They're usually platonic soul mates, though," she shrugged. "Not a romantic bunch."

Jaal nodded, "for the angara, our soul mate's scars are our own. We feel them, but it can make our soul mates...difficult to find." Jaal gestured to the large scar on the side of his head, "this scar appeared recently. The pain was great, my mothers told me they felt my heart stop. I worry, sometimes, that my soul mate did not survived this injury...Or that they were taken by the kett."

Sara's hand flew to the side of her face. She pulled self consciously at her scarf, marking sure her scars were hidden. "I...I'm sure she's okay. She's out there, Jaal."

"Thank you, Sara." He smiled down at her, "during our cultural exchange, Liam told me that humans find it rude to ask about one's soul marks."

"Shit!" Sara's face grew red as Jaal laughed at her. "Do angara find it rude?"

"No," Jaal said. "Your word 'shit' is so multifaceted."

"Oh...yeah," Sara said. "It's rude for us because of the names," she explained. "If a con artist found out your soul mate's name they could pretend to be that person, get your name tattooed on their own wrist. A lot of people were swindled out of their credits right after we discovered the mass relays and the names started appearing. So...we don't ask. And you  
only show it to close friends and family, people that'd you'd trust to help you find your soul mate."

"I see," Jaal said. "I will not ask about your marks then. Since it's rude." He turned back to the jungle. "What are these relays you speak of? What have they to do with soul mates?"

"Oh!" Sara felt relieved at the change of subject. "They're ancient technology, left by the Protheans- uh, they're this log dead race that I used to study before before..." Sara trailed off here, not wanting to think about her old life. "Well anyway, Milky Way species develop a connection to their soul mate the first time they pass through a mass relay. If they even have a soul mate." She paused for a moment. "I never thought about that before- there aren't any relays out here. What'll mean for the next generation?"

Jaal nodded, "Angara youth develop their connection the first time they visit The Forge, if, as you said, a connection was meant to be. The Forge is said to be the birthplace of our people."

Ryder smiled. Maybe humanity wouldn't lose their soul marks after all...so long as they kept playing nice with the angara. 

At that Jaal received a transmission from his mother, and excused himself. 

"See you later, Jaal."

"Stay strong, and clear!" He shouted in return. They seemed to be on friendlier terms now. Good. 

Sara was also relieved he hadn't asked to see her mark. What if was his name?

She was almost more worried that it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates. I needed to play more of the game :)
> 
> Got the "soulmates scars are your own" idea from this fic- http://archiveofourown.org/works/5755546


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was always something to do, Jaal thought. But he was determined they would survive this. And when they did, he and the human Pathfinder were going to have a Very. Serious. Talk.

Sara rapped her knuckles on the hull of the tech lab. Jaal's back was to her, taking apart something on the workbench. She hoped it was a piece of kett tech and not something the rest of the crew might miss. 

Jaal turned at the noise, smiled, and stood up from his tinkering. "I always have time for you," he said. Sara's heart lept. 

Oh fuck it. "Do you have a mate?" The words spilled out of her in a rush. "Er, a partner?"

"I don't," Jaal said. He didn't seem the least bit awkward. "Not for a long time."

"Not for a long time?" Sara said, hoping for more details. It usually didn't take much to convince an angara to talk about their feelings. 

"I...fell in love with a girl once," Jaal said, with a faraway look in his eyes. "Allia. We were young...I was young. It was my first Vesaal on Aya, we worked on the same farm. She was a little older, a researcher. I can still hear her laugh. And see her eyes. She kissed me and I was hers- thrilled and seduced." 

Jaal paused there, and took off the glove on his right hand. He showed Sara a callus on the webbing of his third finger. "Allia had the same scar, it comes from repeatedly firing a modified kett rifle. But Allia was a researcher, she had never fired a gun. I thought we were soul mates." Jaal replaced the glove and let out a heavy breath. "Then my older brother came to Aya, he was already famous in the resistance. He also had the same scar- he was the one who taught me to shoot, you see. And he had a mark on his forehead, to match the one where Allia had struck her head on a rock as a child."

Sara winced. "Where is Allia now, did she and your brother work out?"

Jaal nodded. "They came back to Havarl and she joined our family. She became one of the mothers." 

"You have to see her every day?" Sara ask incredulously.

"No," Jaal said, keeping his voice steady. "They were taken by the Kett. Their children survived. "

"Wow," Sara said. "That's...a lot." 

"Yes," Jaal said. "It's like living on unstable ground." He paused and shook his head, as if clearing away the bad memories, then turned back to Sara, "what about you?"

"Me?" Sara squeaked. "Er, what about me?"

"As you said- do you have a mate, or a partner?"

"Oh," Sara felt her face growing red. "It's been a long time for me, too. That's kind of why I'm here, in Heleus, I mean. Running away from a broken heart."

"Ah," Jaal said. "For aliens we have a lot in common."

"More than you know," Sara murmured. Jaal looked at her quizzically. "Er, I mean it's a similar story," she babbled. "I thought I'd found my soul mate, but it turned out she wasn't. I'd read the marks all wrong, too."

He smiled, amused, "I take it she did not fall for your brother?"

"No!" Sara laughed. "Thankfully they never met."

Jaal laughed with her for a bit, the deep sound echoing through the tiny ship. Eventually the laughter petered out. Sara made as if to leave. She should get back to Pathfinding and let Jaal get back to his work. Then, she changed her mind. 

"I think you're interesting," she blurted out, "and...well, great. Anyway, I'd like to get to know you better." She looked up at him, bracing herself for the worst. "What'dya think?"

"Yes, I'd like that."

"That's it?" Sara said, not bothering to hide her disappointment. 

"You are a lovely woman," Jaal said, his voice warm. "Fascinating. A brilliant risk taker. Knowing you better would be a gift, sincerely."

Sara's face lit up, she couldn't remember the last time anyone had said something so nice to her...it had probably been her brother.

"Okay then!" She said, a little too loud, and promptly left the room. 

Great job, Sara thought to herself, and hoped Jaal found her awkwardness endearing. 

***

"-some kind of imobilizing field," Ryder heard Peebee shout

"It's useless to struggle," the Archon said, like some sort of cartoon villain. Hands clasped behind his back, examining Sara and her friends with an air of nauseating arrogance. "I have been in this forsaken cluster for decades. Surrounded by amoeba. Then you arrive, a human able to do the unthinkable. You even evaded me."

Rah blah blah. He was monologing again, and Sara was really getting sick of his shit. Then he stuck her with something and continued his rant, "-a first sample, testing begins now. I will learn your secrets soon enough."

"Report," The Archon said to the air, then paused. "Await my arrival." He turned back towards Sara, "save you strength, human."

She rolled her eyes as the Archon left, then turned her head as far as she could towards her companions. Jaal and Peebee were stuck in the same field. 

"Raeka must have run into trouble," Jaal said quietly. He meant the Salarian pathfinder. Sara's heart broke a little at the sound of Jaal's voice. She knew he had already lost so much to the kett, and now to be trapped here like this.

She couldn't let him down. "SAM!" Sara said. " What can you tell me?"

"I am sensing a biological transmitter in your bloodstream now. Attempting to neutralize.

"Okay, that's priority two for sure," Sara said sarcastically. "Any idea how to break out of this?"

"The containment fields only interact with living matter," The AI said dryly. "If you expire, the field around you will extinguish until manually reset." Expire? Extinguish? Sara didn't like the sound of any of this. "As you know," SAM continued, "my access to your physiology allows me to enhance your vital signals when required. I can also do the opposite."

"Whoa who whoa," Sara exclaimed, "kinda don't want to die today SAM."

"After stopping your heart, I would attempt to resuscitate of course." Oh, of course the immortal computer brain didn't think this was a big deal. 

"Are there any other options?" Sara said through gritted teeth.

There was a brief pause, then SAM chimed in again, "none that I can determine."

Ryder sighed, resigned. SAM had brought her back from the dead once before, why not again? "All right," she said. "Let's do it."

"Ryder," Peebee said, her voice uncharacteristically sober. "Good luck."

"It has been a pleasure," Jaal said quietly. 

Sara smiled grimly. She wouldn't mind so much if his voice was the last thing she heard. 

But nope, SAM had to go and ruin it. "Stopping your heart," SAM said, "now."

Everything went dark.

***

Jaal watched helplessly as Sara suddenly went rigid, then the field around her vanished and she flopped to the floor like a dead rylkor. An instant later, Jaal felt a pain rip through his chest- the same sensation he'd felt months before, when the scar appeared on the side of his head. When his mothers told him his heart had briefly stopped. When he thought his soul mate must have died. 

The field around Jaal disappeared, that brief moment must have been enough to confuse the field. He felt his heart start again, and heard Peebee's exclamation of surprise.

"Huh," she said, ever the academic. "Will you look at that? But then why am I still...oh. OH!" Peebee's laughter filled the chamber.

"Now is not the time," Jaal said harshly. "SAM?" He called out to the AI. No response. "SAM!?" He bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the room. 

"Stimulating the cardiovascular core," the AI responded coldly. There was a pause, an eternity. Nothing. "Zero activity."

"No," Jaal shouted to the air. He knelt by Ryder's side, afraid to touch her. "You will not take her from me! Not now. Not after everything!" 

"Stimulating the cardiovascular core," SAM repeated. And Jaal sighed with relief as he heard Sara gasping for breath. Was he crying? Jaal thought he might be crying.

"That's twice now I've come back from the dead," Sara groaned as she picked herself up from the floor. "Can't say the experience is improving."

"I believe it is preferable to the alternative." SAM quipped.

"Hey, how did you get down?" Sara said, just noticing Jaal.

"I will tell you later," Jaal said as he stood, angrily wiping his face. "Soon. When our lives are not in immediate danger. When we are not surrounded by kett-"

Ryder snorted. "Good luck with that," she said, a little manic from the adrenaline. "We're always surrounded by kett. Our lives are always in danger. I've died twice now!"

"I am well aware," Jaal snarled. Sara flinched, she'd never seen him so angry. 

"Hey, you two!" Peebee whined. "stop dying and get me down already."

"Right, sorry." Sara said. She found the panel and deactivated the field holding her friend aloft. Peebee fell to the ground, and they all took off again in search of the artifact, and the Archon, and Pathfinder Raeka. 

There was always something to do, Jaal thought. But he was determined they would survive this. And when they did, he and the human Pathfinder were going to have a Very. Serious. Talk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait, love? What was he- did that word mean the same thing to angara as it did to her? Maybe it was a problem with the translators. He couldn't mean...no, Jaal had said earlier that he loved the Moshae. That must be what he meant, like the way you love a close friend. Or a valued colleague. Or...a really good bottle of ryncol?

The trip back to the Tempest was a blur with Ryder crashing hard after the adrenaline rush. Jaal was definitely pissed with her, Sara had a hundred guesses as to why. Was it that she had chosen to save the krogan over her fellow Pathfinder? She just couldn't stand the thought of leaving anyone to be exalted.

Peebee, on the other hand, seemed pleased as punch. She kept grinning at Ryder and whispering "I know something you don't know," in a sing-song voice whenever there was a quiet moment.

"I'm sure you do," Sara finally snapped, wearily. "You're really smart, Peebee! And nice, and funny. Anyway, I'm sure you know lots of things I don't know."

"Oh," Peebee said, taken aback. "Thanks?" She was uncharacteristically quiet the rest of the trip.

Once they made it back to the ship there was no time to talk. Drack was there to thank her for saving his scouts and congratulate them all on giving the Archon a good spaking.Then she was called into a video conference with Tann and the other Pathfinders. Ugh, Tann.

Sara thought she had finally escaped Pathfinder duties, when Lexi pulled her into the med bay.

"We need to talk," Lexi said, using her most serious Doctor Voice, "about SAM."

The AI cut in, "Dr. T'Perro does not approve how we escaped the kett containment field on the Archon's flagship."

"By stopping the Pathfinder's heart! No I do not approve," Lexi said.

"Relax doc," Sara said. She was definitely in need of some rest and feeling a little punchy. "It turned out okay."

"Dying, even temporarily, is never okay." Lexi raised a hand to her face and massaged her temples, exasperated. "Ryder, SAM killed you. Yes, he brought you back, but what if he didn't?"

"I cannot learn without the Pathfinder," SAM said evenly. "That would be akin to killing a part of myself."

"You're lines of code, you can't die," Lexi snapped.

"Hurting me goes against SAM's design," Sara said weakly.

"Because AI have never acted against their designs before," Lexi said, uncharacteristically sarcastic. She sighed, "look, I'm not against SAM." The doctor paused here and called up towards the ceiling, "I'm not against you, SAM!" She turned back towards her patient, "but my job is hard enough without an AI stopping your heart. Even to save your life."

"All right, I'll find a new party trick," Sara said, a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood.

"Have Gil teach you Three-Card Monte or something," Lexi joked back. Good, they were back to being friends again, not doctor-and-patient.

"Lexi, I apologize for any distress I have caused you," SAM added.

Lexi sighed again, "and I'm sorry for calling you 'lines of code'. You're more than that, even if you don't have cells to prove it."

The doctor nodded to the Pathfinder, and went back to her work. Sara made as if to leave, finally a chance to get some well-earned rest, then stopped. Lexi was humming!

"I know that song," Sara said. She sang the last verse, "but she'll be true to Tuchanka's dream, and live and die a krogan queen!"

Lexi winced, "you're flat. And be quiet! I mean, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do," Sara said, feeling like a gossipy teenager again. "And that means your soul mate is here in Andromeda, right? Otherwise the song would be too quiet for you to hear? Oh my- is it Drack? I bet it's Drack."

"Drack is my patient," Lexi said, staring at her screen and trying to ignore Ryder. "And I don't want to talk about it! Unless you're in need of immediate medical attention, get out!"

"Sure," Ryder said, backing out of the room and leaving the doctor in peace. "But next time we're on the Nexus, we're getting drinks! Then I want details."

"OUT!" Lexi shouted.

Sara managed to avoid running into anyone else in the corridor. She escaped back to her cabin and collapsed on the bed.

"Pathfinder?" Sara's eyes snapped open at the sound of SAM's voice in her head.

"Uuuuugh," Ryder whined. "You know what, SAM, no. No! I'm not the Pathfinder today. Give Cora the job. Or wake Scott up and let him do it. I need a nap, a hot meal and a shower, then maybe I can think about being the Pathfinder again."

"Sara," SAM ignored her. "I believe Jaal is looking for you."

Ryder sighed, sat up, and left her room in search of him.

***  
"You more than anyone know how dangerous Akksul is," a pained female angara voice said over vid channel. This must have been why SAM had sent her to find Jaal, the AI knew there was something wrong.

Jaal growled, still unaware of Sara's presence. "Why were they allowed to speak to him?"

"They aren't children anymore. We can't control their every move." She sounded really upset. Sara's thoughts flashed back to her own mother, pleading with her not to take that assignment off planet, not to date krogan three times her own age, and to always wear her helmet when she was working in the field. Moms were the same everywhere.

"You remember how you were," the voice continued. "Please Jaal!"

Jaal sighed. "I'll bring them home," he said, and ended the transmission.

Sara stepped further into the tiny room. "Are you okay?"

Jaal avoided looking at her. He spoke haltingly, as though each word pained him. "Three of my brothers and sisters have joined the Roekaar. Akksul has poisoned them with his hatred of aliens."

"And your mothers want you to bring them back," Sara filled in the rest.

"The Roekaar have made camp at the forge. Akksul likely believes this bold move will create more fanatics for his cause." Jaal crossed the room to her and looked up, finally meeting her eyes. "Ryder," his voice broke, "he has my family. But I don't think I can do this alone."

"You don't have to," Sara said. Her thoughts flew to Scott, if she couldn't help her own brother, at least she could help Jaal save his siblings. "Just tell me the time and place."

Jaal sighed with relief. "No hesitation," he said, clasping a hand to her shoulder. "That is what I love about you."

Wait, love? What was he- did that word mean the same thing to angara as it did to her? Maybe it was a problem with the translators. He couldn't mean...no, Jaal had said earlier that he loved the Moshae. That must be what he meant, like the way you love a close friend. Or a valued colleague. Or...a really good bottle of ryncol?

Wow, dying had been bad for her self esteem!

Jaal continued without pause while Sara struggled to focus on his words, "...I have a contact with the Roekaar," he was saying, as he made his way back to the coms. "I'll set up a rendezvous with her."

"Great," Sara said. "SAM? Tell Kallo to plot a course whenever Jaal gives the word. I'm..." she looked up at Jaal with sad eyes. "I'm very tired. Do anagara nap?"

Jaal laughed. "Sometimes we do. Go, darling one. SAM will wake you when it is time." He said, and gently ushered her from the room.

Darling one? Sara puzzled over this phrase as she made her way back to her quarters for a few hours of sleep. There was definitely a problem with her translator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the lack of payoff! I'd been set to write the last chapter, then realized they couldn't get together before completing Jaal's loyalty mission. So...here we are. 
> 
> Also, here's the "Krogan Queen" song: https://youtu.be/NWrgweie7xc


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara just stared at him. She wasn't use to this- people didn't just talk about their feelings! Her father hid his, buried his pain and his love for their mother, hiding in his work. She and Scott danced around their feelings, disguised them with jokes and smartass comments. 
> 
> This was just so...alien.

"Pathfinder, Suvi informs me we are now approaching Havarl," SAM's voice jolted Ryder awake. 

"Right, thanks SAM," she mumbled, and checked the time on her omni tool. She'd slept like the dead for twelve hours. Well, like the recently deceased. The AI knew her habits by now, and had given her just enough time to shower, eat a ration, and dress in her armor before Kallo had the Tempest safely landed. 

She met Jaal in the cargo bay, the hatch was already open. He looked agitated, fidgeting with his rifle. 

"We'll get them back," Ryder said, weakly. 

Jaal only grunted, then tipped his head towards the open bay doors. 

The Roekaar contact had agreed to meet them near the landing site at the research station. It was a short walk through the complex, Ryder trailed along behind Jaal and resisted the usual urge to use the jump jets on her  
suit to bounce along the railings and rooftops. 

They met up with the contact at the shuttle landing pad. Sara hung back again, this was Jaal's mission.

"We're not fighting the whole Roekaar army," Jaal argued with his contact. "We just need to find my family."

"My shuttle can drop you nearby, but that's about all I can do. Evfra doesn't want to make enemies of the Roekaar unless we have to." Their contact was cold for an angara, practical. Sara understood why this soldier had been chosen by the Resistance as a go-between with the Roekaar. 

"We'll keep a low profile," Jaal reassured his contact.

They were led to a small transport shuttle and took off over the dense jungle of Havarl. Jaal was still, silent, avoiding her gaze. At first Sara tried to ignore the awkwardness and focus instead on double-checking her  
armor, her weapons, counting her ammunition, until finally there was nothing left to occupy herself with. She couldn't take it anymore. 

"Jaal, you sure you want me here?" Sara said. "Bringing an outsider-"

"Will give the Roekaar a different perspective, Jaal said evenly. "Just follow my lead, we'll get my family back."

Sara nodded. They sat in silence for a time, until she couldn't take it anymore. "You're mad at me," she said. Not a question, just a statement. "Or, you have been. Ever since the Archon's ship-"

"You. Died." Jaal said, each word a blow. "I am having a difficult time forgiving you for that."

"Oh! First Lexi and now you- it wasn't my idea!" She snapped, angry that she had to defend her decision again. "And why does it even matter, SAM brought me back! If I hadn't died, we all could have been exalted. You could have died-"

"Your life is not worth less than mine, than any of ours," Jaal snapped back. "I care for you, Ryder, and watching you die hurt me."

Sara just stared at him. She wasn't use to this- people didn't just talk about their feelings! Her father hid his, buried his pain and his love for their mother, hiding in his work. She and Scott danced around their feelings, disguised them with jokes and smartass comments. 

This was just so...alien.

"We're here," the shuttle pilot said, his words bringing Ryder back to the task at hand. "I'll circle around, radio when you're ready for pickup. If Akksul lets you leave."

Jaal nodded to the pilot, then turned to Sara, "follow my lead?" His voice was softer now, pleading.

Sara nodded, and they stalked off into the jungle.

***  
After the altercation with Akksul and Roekaar they walked back, side by side, to the transport shuttle. Jaal's siblings followed, Teviint and Baranjj supporting the injured Lathoul between them. Most of the Roekaar wandered off, disillusioned after what they'd witnessed. They left Akksul defeated where he stood. 

"You okay?" Sara asked, still shaking.

"Yeah. Thanks,"Jaal said, with a grunt that indicated he was clearly was not okay.

They made their way back to the transport shuttle, and from there to Pelaav Research Station. This time they made the trip in total silence. Even Jaal's siblings seemed to sense something was wrong, they didn't talk or even start to joke with each other until after the shuttle had landed. 

Sara hung back while Jaal's family reunited. She watched, a little envious, as the mothers embraced their children, welcomed them home and scolded them  
for their foolishness.

"Let's give them a minute," Jaal said to Sara, and they made their way over to the opposite side of the landing pad. Jaal leaned against the railing and stared out into the dark jungle. "Thank you for trusting me," Jaal said. "Killing Akksul would have made the Roekaar stronger."

"He shot you," Sara said, her voice breaking. She felt trapped, needed air. She undid the latches on her helmet and pulled it off. For a moment all she  
could hear was the hiss of fresh oxygen rushing in, then the sound of falling rain and the clicks and far-offs screeches of jungle creatures filled her ears. Sara took a deep breath. Then another. 

"I'm gad he did," Jaal said after a time. "It exposed how far he'd fallen."

"I'm sorry," Sara said. "About before. I get it now, what you must have felt when you watched me...I was really worried!"

"It will heal," Jaal said, reaching over to cradle the back of Sara's head in his hand and pull her close. "All scars do."

Sara closed her eyes, wrapped her head around the back of Jaal's head, mirroring his own gesture, and leaned into his embrace for a moment. She  
tried to shut out everything but the feeling of his arms and the sound of his breathing. His heartbeat. For this first time since arriving in Heleus, she felt at home.

Then Jaal pulled away. "Speaking of scars," he said, as he ran a hand along Sara's jaw, and gently pushed back her hair. Sara held her breath as Jaal  
traced along the scar behind her hear and trailing down her neck. She pushed his hand away. 

"There was an accident," she said, her words arrhythmic and disjointed. "When we first arrived in Andromeda. I...died. Then my father died instead, to save me."

"Yes, I remember," Jaal said. "The mark is familiar." He said, gesturing to the scar on the side of his cowl. Jaal then reached down, took her wrist, and began to unfasten her gauntlet.

"Hey!" Sara exclaimed, with a half-hearted and failed attempt to pull away from his grasp. "What are you doing?"

"I am being very rude," Jaal said. He tossed the gauntlet to the ground and held Sara's hand in his own, staring straight into her eyes. "Since you have arrived in this galaxy you have died twice. And twice, I have felt my own heart stop." He pushed back the sleeve of the heavy black shirt she wore under her armor, exposing her wrist and the series of strange markings there.

"I don't know what it says," Sara babbled. "My brother always joked that it just looked like a bunch of triangles-"

"Sara Ryder," Jaal said. "You have my name written on your wrist." Then Jaal threw his head back and began to laugh as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

Sara stared up at Jaal for a moment, his loud booming laughter echoing off the trees and scaring the jungle creatures into momentary silence. Then she couldn't help it, his joy was infectious. She began to laugh, too.

"My darling one, my soul mate," Jaal said as the laughter petered out. "I adore you," he leaned down towards her, then hesitated. Sara rose up on her tiptoes to close the distance, pressing her lips to Jaal's. He sighed, thread his fingers through her hair, and pulled her closer. 

"We've both been wrong before," Sara said after a time, the familiar worry creeping up her spine. "Are you sure this time? There aren't a dozen other angara out there name 'Jaal Ama Darav'?"

"I am certain," Jaal said. "Are you? How are you feeling, darling one?"

"I don't know," Sara shook her head. "I'm excited and terrified and angry and-" 

Jaal cut her off with another laugh. "See? I am already a good influence on you. So free with your emotions," he turned then, to see his mothers and siblings watching them curiously them from the other side of the landing  
pad. Sara pushed away and ducked her head, feeling self-conscious now that they had an audience. "We should get back," Jaal said. "I want to say goodbye before my family heads home."

"You could go with them," Sara said, picking up her helmet from the ground and re-securing her gauntlet. "For a visit, I mean. Since we're already here on Havarl. It'd be a shame to waste the trip."

Jaal smiled, "would you like to come with me? To meet my family?"

"Yeah," Sara said, relieved. "I'd like that."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara reached over and pulled Jaal closer to Scott's bedside. "Scott, meet Jaal ama Darav. Resistance fighter, the Tempest's envoy through angaran space, and...when you write out his name, it looks like a very familiar bunch of triangles."

Ryder joined Jaal and his family in their shuttle for the ride back to the family home. The mothers hung back, whispering and giggling among themselves as they watched Jaal casually drape an arm over Sara's shoulders. She leaned against his side, unable to keep the smile off her face.The two younger siblings still acted suspicious of the Milky Way alien, but Lathoul was feeling well enough to tease.

"So human," Lathoul said, and he winced as he struggled to sit up a little. "I see Jaal had other reasons for dragging you along today."

"Hush," Sara said. "You're injured, you need to rest!"

He waived her off, "Teviint is terrible shot, worse than Akksul. Couldn't even kill me at close range." He paused to cough, wincing, "you though, you're almost as good as Jaal!"

Ryder raised an eyebrow at the compliment, "almost?"

"He does have the best rifle in the Resistance," Lathoul laughed. "We'll have to take you out hunting kett sometime, see what you can really do."

"Deal," Ryder said. "As soon as you're healed."

Most of the party disappeared soon after they landed, the mothers eager to dress Lathoul's wounds and fuss over him, the other siblings ready to go sulk in their rooms. Sara warmly embraced Jaal's true mother, Sahuna, and laughed at his embarrassment when his mother sang his praises before running off to a Resistance meeting.

"Your mother is in the Resistance?" Sara asked, impressed.

"Yes." Then Jaal leaned over and added in a conspiratorial whisper, "and every child is her favorite."

Jaal pulled Sara though the home, introducing her to siblings and cousins along the way, until they reached his room. "My tiny sanctuary," he called it. 

Sara smiled, and looked around, "we're alone."

"We've been alone before," Jaal said. 

Sara shook her head, "we've talked in the tech lab with Liam and Vetra hovering outside the open door. Or in the Nomad with Peebee napping in the back seat. Pathfinders don't get a lot of privacy."

"There are most likely children listening outside the door," Jaal said. "But, someday, if you like, I will take you to my favorite place on Aya. Where we can be truly alone." 

Sara sat back on the bed, and watched amused as Jaal showed off his childhood bedroom to her, pointing out old tinkering projects and experiments. She remembered doing the same thing in college when accompanying different partners home on holiday breaks. The scene was oddly familiar, considering Jaal was an alien from a completely different galaxy. 

Jaal paused in his tour of the small space, and suddenly seemed shy, "for the angara, there are as many different types of soul mates as there are souls. The connection is not necessarily romantic, but- you make my heart sing." He took a deep breath, nervous. "I want us to be together."

Sara smiled back up at him, "yeah, I'd like that," she said, echoing her earlier sentiment. 

Jaal let out a joyful laugh, and a triumphant, "yes!" Then leaned down to kiss her again. Sara's smiled pressed against Jaal's as they both heard the angara children giggling outside his door. 

"Ah, let me show you one more thing you might like," Jaal said, embarrassed by his family's behavior. 

They lay back on the floor of his room, hand in hand, and stared at the projection of stars on the ceiling until Jaal's mothers and aunties started knocking at the door, eager to the meet the new girl.

Jaal helped her to her feet, and Sara took a moment to tie a hair back, exposing her scars. Jaal nodded appreciatively. 

The mothers squealed and hugged her when they saw. 

***  
They headed back to the Nexus, Sara was overdue for a check-in ever since the Archon's flagship. But as soon as they landed Sara received word from Dr. Carlyle that Scott was awake, and any official duties were pushed out of her mind. She sprinted through the station, dodging protesters and one very persistent journalist, back to the Hyperion's medbay. 

Gil was already there! Sara couldn't believe he'd beaten her, and he already had a deck of cards out. Looked like they'd been playing poker. 

"Scott!" Sara ran up to his bedside and reached out to hug her little brother.

"You didn't tell me about dad," Scott said, pushing her away, hurt and angry. 

"Oh, Scott!" Sara said, and settled down on the edge of the bed, between her brother and Gil. "I didn't know what it would do to you. I didn't want to risk hurting your recovery, so I tried to give you good news instead! But...that backfired." She offered Gil a sympathetic glance, but he was suddenly very busy shuffling his deck of cards. "It was never going to be easy, Scott. But I hoped I could be here to make it better."

Scott sighed, resigned. "Come here," he said, and Sara finally got her hug. "It's just you and me now sis."

"And me," Gil added, and leaned over to give Scott a light kiss on the cheek.

"Right, "Scott said blushing. "We're making new families here in Andromeda. Just like mom and dad would have wanted."

Sara smiled at her brother, then out of the corner of her eye she saw Jaal enter the medbay. She gave a small waive, as he hung back by the door, not wanting to intrude on the reunion. 

"Well, you two sure are getting cozy fast," Sara said to Scott. 

Scott turned to Gil and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Let me know if I go too fast for you"

"There's no such thing," Gil said, and leaned over to kiss his soul mate properly this time.

Sara stood and moved out of their way, loudly clearing her throat. The boys reluctantly separated. 

"So," Scott said, turning his attention back to his sister, but keeping one hand on Gil's shoulder. "What's this rumor I'm hearing you're the Pathfinder?"

"Dad's parting gift," Sara said with a shrug. "It was a steep learning curve, but I'm finally starting to get the hang of it."

"Soon as I get my gear, well-" Scott made as if to stand, but stumbled. Gil was right there to catch him. 

"Careful," Gil said. 

"No way are you fit for duty, sir," Dr. Carlyle rushed over to help Gil get Scott settled back down on the cot.

"Oh yeah, says who?" Scott pouted.

"The Pathfinder, that's who," Sara said, using her big sister voice. "Time to rest up. That's an order, specialist Ryder."

Scott yawned and leaned back on the cot as the doctor wandered away, "pulling rank already? Better hope I never tell anyone about that year you only ate paste."

Jaal approached then, "really? Nutrient paste is a staple of the angara diet- I would be interested to sample the human equivalent."

Sara grinned, "it's not food, Jaal. My brother was just trying to embarrass me. But he's going to have to work harder than that!" Sara reached over and pulled Jaal closer to Scott's bedside. "Scott, meet Jaal ama Darav. Resistance fighter, the Tempest's envoy through angaran space, and...when you write out his name, it looks like a very familiar bunch of triangles."

Scott's eyes grew wide. He offered a hand to Jaal, who took it and moved it the opposite side of his wrist, the same gesture he'd taught Sara when they'd first met. 

"Uh, sis?" Scott turned to Sara, raising an eyebrow. "This is not what the Initiative meant by first contact."

"Scott!" Sara protested, playfully. "In my role as Pathfinder I've been nothing but professional."

"She has," Jaal said, his deep voice rumbling. "So far. I have plans for later."

"Gross," Scott said.

"You're gross," Sara said with a gentle punch to her brother's shoulder.

"Siblings," Gil said to Jaal, shrugging apologetically. 

"I understand," Jaal said. "I come from a very large family."

"That reminds me, need to do my sisterly duty," Sara said, turning back to Scott. "So, what are your intentions with my crewmate here?" She gestured to Gil. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Scott said, deadpan.

"Oh, sorry, did I jump the gun?"

"I mean, Gil's my mate, not yours."

Sara groaned and rolled her eyes. 

Scott was ignoring her now, completely focused on Gil. "How about you, what are your intentions?" 

Oh, brother!

Gil smirked, "I'll have to give it some thought. Once you're back on your feet, of course."

"I look forward to it," Scott said. "So, back to cards?"

"Take it easy on him," Sara said to Gil. "He's still recovering. So, no strip poker."

"Not how I'd want to get him naked anyway," Gil said. "But believe me Scott, if we played strip poker you would end up naked."

"Confidence goes a long way with me, very sexy," Scott said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh god!" Sara exclaimed as Jaal laughed. "You two are going to be impossible!"

"Look at how we have all found each other," Jaal said happily. "Isn't this the best time to be alive? There, I've decided it is."

"Or the best time to be awake, as the case may be," Scott quipped.

"Best time not to be in a coma?" Gil added.

"No," Jaal said, still laughing. "Awake and alive. Because if you weren't here, you'd be dead. Best time to be alive."

He was right, Sara thought. When she'd gotten her soul mark, Jaal hadn't even been born yet. His great-grandmother hadn't even been born! If Sara hadn't gone into stasis for 600 years, crossed all of darkspace, they wouldn't have even been alive at the same time. They never would have found each other. 

"Yeah," Sara agreed as she looked up at Jaal with adoration. "Though I don't know how we top this feeling."

Maybe they didn't have to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...done! Thank you for reading, and for all of your lovely comments.

**Author's Note:**

> Got the "soulmate marks appear the first time you travel through a Mass Relay" idea from here- http://archiveofourown.org/works/5878507/chapters/13548283


End file.
